STATE CHAMPS – D3

You can tag the Williamsburg 8^th grade football team the “Cinderella” of the 2010 Kentucky Middle School State Championship. Here was a team that was suppose to be defeated in a regional game against a much larger Cumberland Middle School team, Williamsburg wins 38-14.

The Yellow Jackets move on to the state semifinals and meet Russellville, another team that was big and full of speed, Williamsburg wins, 40-16.

In the championship it was Raceland marching in with an unbeaten record. Again many non-partisans expected Raceland to roll past the Yellow Jackets. However, the Jackets were ram tough and rolled to the state title with an impressive 44-8 victory.

The statistics were unreal for a middle school football team. Williamsburg (15-1) ran their way to 369 yards on the ground and threw for another 177 yards. The total, 546 yards.

Quarterback Skyler Griffith accounted for 328 yards himself. He ran for 151 yards and two touchdowns while connecting on 7-of-12 passes for 177 yards and one touchdown.

Chase Lowrie had two touchdowns on 12 carries for 177 yards.

The Williamsburg defense limited Raceland to 110 yards on the ground and 66 through the air.

And that was just in the championship game. In the semifinal, Williamsburg had 226 yards on the ground and 182 yards through the air for a total of 408 yards while holding Russellville to 122 yards.

In the title game, the Williamsburg defense got off to a quick start when Michael Dillon Rose tackled Connor Messer in the end zone for a safety.

The free kick put the Yellow Jackets in great field position. Williamsburg used a six-play, 75-yard drive to get their first touchdown of the game. Corey Shelton broke open for a 43-yard pass play from Griffith. Griffith added the extra points and Williamsburg had a 10-0 lead and took command of the game.

“The safety set the tone of the game,” said Williamsburg Coach Andrew Kleinmann. “I’m just thrilled to death for the kids and community.”

Raceland’s Messer scored just before the quarter ended on a 52-yard run, His pass to Rodney Vance on the PAT closed the gap to 10-8.

That was the closest Raceland would come as Williamsburg went on a 34-0 run to blow the game open. Griffith scored three straight touchdowns on a run of 74 yards, a 64-yard interception return and a 17-yard run in the third quarter that put the Jackets ahead, 30-8.

Chase Lowrie closed out the scoring with a 41-yard run late in the second quarter and a 40-yard run on the first play of the fourth quarter.

Kleinmann praised the play of Griffith. “Skyler might be the best quarterback in the state,” he said. “He is so smart and he’s been the rock of our team all season long.”

Kleinmann and his staff were shocked to find out only one player was named to the Division 3 All-State team. Griffith made the team, but the coach felt like several other players should have been on the team from Williamsburg.

“We only had one player make it and Raceland had four. I believe Russellville had three or four and Cumberland had three,” Kleinmann said. “It feels we always get the short end of the stick. People think Williamsburg is just a small school and they don’t give us the credit we deserve.”

However, in the end it was all Williamsburg who dominated Division 3.

Williamsburg 44, Raceland 8

Raceland              8   0     0   0-   8

Williamsburg            10   8   20   6- 44

WMS- Michael Rose safety

WMS- Corey Shelton 43 pass from Skyler Griffith (Griffith run)

RMS- Connor Messer 52 run (Rodney Vance pass from Messer)

WMS- Griffith 74 run (Chase Lowrie run)

WMS- Griffith 64 interception return (pass failed)

WMS- Griffith 17 run (pass failed)

WMS- Chase Lowrie 41 run (Griffith run)

WMS- Lowrie 40 run (pass failed)

Williamsburg 40, Russellville 16

Russellville              8    0    0   8- 16

Williamsburg            14  14  12   0- 40

RMS- Desmund Quarrells 14 run (Coco Darden run)

WMS- Skyler Griffith 3 run (pass failed)

WMS- Corey Shelton 9 pass from Griffith

WMS- Chase Lowrie 62 run (Shelton pass from Griffith)

WMS- Lowrie 15 run (Griffith run)

WMS- Chris Helton 22 fumble return (run failed)

WMS- Shelton 36 run (run failed)

RMS- Quarrells 1 run (Proctor pass from Darden)